We ended up sleeping later than we planned, so we weren’t out the door until after 9 a.m. After the hour drive to Gettysburg, we made our way into the main building and tried to decide what we wanted to do. There was an indoor museum, that would take approximately two hours to get through, and different tour options. The museum sounded interesting, but it was already 10:30 and I wanted to see as much of the park as possible. Since we had our own car, we decided to just buy a CD that would guide us through the park.

As we walked to our car, Brett asked if our rental car had a CD player. It has to, I said. Lo and behold, we did not have a CD player. We returned the CD, and Brett bought the app on his phone so we could listen to the tour guide that way. By this point it was 11:30 a.m., but we were finally off!

The park was absolutely beautiful, and we were able to stop, listen and learn about many of the battle sites. Before lunch, we were able to squeeze in Big Round Top and Little Round Top. But it was getting warm and I was starving. My sister told us about a place to eat called the Dobbin House Tavern.

Enjoying lunch at Dobbin House Tavern.

The restaurant is located in the basement, and candles add a spooky, fun glow to the room. Plus, all the servers are dressed in old-fashioned entire. The food was delicious, and we even splurged on some pie. So yummy!

We did a little souvenir shopping after lunch, but since it was already mid-afternoon, we got back to our tour. We did a lot of exploring at Devil’s Den. The rock formation was fascinating, and it was easy to imagine a battle taking place here.

Devil’s Den

By mid-afternoon, it was hot and humid, and I wasn’t too eager to get out of the air-conditioned car. We were able to see all of the sites on the tour, but it was fast and furious.

We arrived back at my sister’s at about 5:30, and we were all ready for supper. We got takeout from Mexitaly that specializes in Mexican and Italian fare.

We said goodbye to our brother-in-law, James, that night, as he was going out of town the next day for work.

Again, we went to bed early to prepare for another big day!

Tuesday, August 4

On our last day with my sister, we chose to visit the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I had actually been there a few years ago when I was visiting Steph, but Brett and Kenzie hadn’t been there before.

Steph and Kenzie at the aquarium. 🙂

For a few days before, Kenzie kept talking about seeing the sharks. It was so much fun to see how excited she was looking at all the marine life. We were able to touch jellyfish and saw so many amazing different animals, from turtles to sharks and even a monkey!

Calypso, the sea turtle.

My favorite part was the dolphin show. It was pretty short, but it’s so neat to see the different personalities of each dolphin and how agile they are in the water. I may have been a dolphin (or some other aquatic animal) in the a past life. 🙂

Being on the East Coast, Brett was adamant about having seafood at some point on our trip. Steph had friends that recommended a restaurant right across Inner Harbor, but the only way to get there was by water taxi, and the cost was $14 per person. We weren’t too thrilled with those prices, so we had lunch at Phillips Seafood. It was a little pricey, but delicious.

Once we got back from Baltimore, we made a stop at Old Navy and hung out in the backyard playing with Kenzie. We ordered Italian food for supper, and I began repacking our suitcase. I did more shopping than I had planned, and it was stuffed to the brim. Luckily, it weighed exactly 50 pounds, and we didn’t have to pay for it. 🙂

Overall, we had a wonderful vacation. It was a whirlwind, and we packed a lot into a few days, but I’m so grateful to have family to share these moments with and an amazing husband who goes along with all my crazy shenanigans. ❤